Guest chopstick1981 Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 first off just wanna say this is a great forum, TONS of info! I haven't started yet, but am planning on swapping the old 6 for a v8. Here's my question: For all of you with a t56 trans, how practical is having two overdrive gears. at what speed do you shift for sixth and where does this put your RPMs. Is this for extreme speeding, breaking the sound barrier and such, or is this useful enough in everyday driving? Im just considering all my options right now, and dont want to spend a bunch of dollars on a t56 if im not really going to use that sixth gear much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Look at the gear ratios too, not just the 2 overdrive thing. There is a T56 with a very tall 1st gear. That is the one to buy IMO. You could put seriously low rear gears in and still be able to cruise on the freeway without annoyingly high rpms, and since 1st is so tall and the gear spacing so tight, it would be really cool for a car with a big cam or something that has a narrower powerband. The T56C as listed on the following page would be a total waste IMO unless you wanted to try and get 40 mpg while cruising down the freeway at 800 rpm. I can't imagine 1st gear being usable beyond 20 mph with a reasonable rear gear in a V8. http://www.bigfastcar.com/transmissions.asp Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopstick1981 Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 one more question, what other manual transmissions can i choose from? The only other manual i've read about is the t5 or wct5, but the torque ratings on those dont make it look all that tough, Chevy's been making the small block for over 30 years, there's goota be other choices..... right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 how much torque are you going to be trying to put down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 With my T56(93' out of a Camaro, .62:1 6th gear) and 3.545 gears in the rear...I am cruising at 90mph @about 2100RPMS I think its great for cruising on the highway! 1st gear for me is still very useable too. I dont know for sure what my 1st gear ratio is though? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 The Toyota Supra 5 speed is another option. You can get close ratio's and higher overdrive ones if you look around. They are rated to 400 lbs of torque. Cheep to. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 LS1/t56 with .5:1 6th and 3.70:1 R200 LSD. 1st gear is a real stump puller and does a great job of burning up the stock street tires. 6th gear is 1500 at 60 mph and cruised there - and down to 50 mph ok. Gets excellent mpg - about 25 on th ehighway when in 6th. all I need is more tire to hook up the 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 The T56 was the perfect tranny for my buddies Tomahawk because it made highway crusing much quieter. 65 mph with sidepipes and the top off is very comfortable now because the motor is only turning 1400 rpms. I chose a T5 for my car because I believed a 6th ratio would be superfluous and I couldn't see spending the extra money. After driving my buddies I can honestly say I was wrong. The ratios are great. He has a '95 T56 with a 3.54 rearend and tall 305/50/15's. This is a wonderful tranny that shifts smooth and you don't have to worry about abusing. The only drawback is that it weighs about 75 lbs. more than a T5. IMHO the advantages of this tranny far outweigh a 75 lb. gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 350zgto Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 It sounds to me the .62 6th would be the best choice with the common 3.54 rear end. (.50 with 3.36 rear being the worst) If you get down to 3.70 or lower on the rear end, 1st gear is tractor-like. Who has experience with a performance cammed carbed motor turing 1400-1500 RPM cruising? The LS1 and LT1 TPI guys have it "built in" with the stock mangement systems, but does a typical hot cam and carb combo operate decently say at 65 mph in 6th? My car is turning 1950 RPM @ 65 mph and that is the bottom of "happy zone" for my .465 lift cam. My 5th gear shift is at 65 mph, truly for crusing. If the RPM were any lower, I would have to downshift out of 5th to get any real acceleration. 90 MPH is not crusing. Those are Bonneville gears. Some of these cams have recommended cruise RPM of up to 3,000, does'nt the engine revolt at 1400 RPM? (Just over their idle speed?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 my 93 camaro with 3.36 rear gears is great with the 6 speed. Only problem is I find myself routinely cruising at 90 to 100 mph. My 280 has a carbed 350 and a T5. main factor was cost. I debated mostly because of strength. I thought the 6th gear would be unneccessary, but driving the camaro around lately I think it would be nice to have. I kinda wish someone would slam into my camaro so I can buy it back from the insurance company and use it as a donor. When I get my Z inspected very soon and start really driving it around I expect to gernade the non world class T5 I put in it for now. After that I'll be looking for a WC T5 and see how it holds up. I really enjoy hammering on my cars so I'll probably end up with the T56 when I run across a real good deal. Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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